The Vacation
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Finished. CLAMP Gundam Wing crossover. There are no missions and Quatre decides they all need a vacation, at CLAMP Campus? Yaoi warning, but then you know CLAMP, they are famous for their strange relationships!
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Yes this insanity was spawned when I bought the new Card Captor Sakura DVD. For all who know about the CLAMP universe this takes place somewhere around three years before X and I threw in other characters just because I could. Be warned of inconsistancies but I've only seen some of the first season of Card Captor Sakura, so for that universe think of this as an AU. That was really confusing... Don't worry you'll understand as you read the story. J Enjoy and please review!  
  
One Vacation too Many  
  
Duo pushed open the door with his back and backed into the room, glancing around and giving a low whistle. "I gotta say one thing for Quatre, he certainly spares no expense in these safe houses."  
  
Heero followed him in and frowned. "He could have been a little more discreet."  
  
"Aww, come on Heero. This is our vacation, enjoy it for once will you? We should thank Quatre that he gave us such a large apartment here in Japan. Besides, you're back at your own stomping grounds aren't you? When you going to give me the tour?"   
  
Heero shook his head. "Not tonight."  
  
Duo watched in a small amount of confusion as Heero walked off down the hall toward the bedrooms with a strangely blank look on his face. True, Heero's face was almost always blank, but there were degrees of blankness that Duo had come to recognize on his lover. This particular one was Heero trying really hard not to think of something in particular. Duo wondered quietly what that thing was. He dropped his bags off near his own door and walked over to Heero's room, leaning against the doorframe silently. He watched Heero with worried eyes as the Japanese boy leaned against the windowsill, staring out across the city below.   
  
"You just going to watch me all day?"  
  
Duo shrugged and walked over to Heero, wrapping his arms around the other pilot. "You got a problem with me watching you?" he teased.  
  
Heero merely shook his head.  
  
"What's up?" Duo asked seriously.  
  
"Nothing, just old memories."  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow. "Old memories? Like what?"  
  
Heero shook his head again.  
  
"You'll tell me later right?" Duo asked as he nuzzled against the side of Heero's neck.  
  
Heero sighed softly in defeat. A small smile crossed his face and he turned on the braided American. Duo smirked at him then Heero wrapped him in a tight loving embrace.  
  
**  
  
"Kaitou."  
  
Nokoru looked up from the mounds of paperwork on his desk to his blue haired associate. "Hai Suoh?"  
  
Takamara Suoh laid two folders down in front of the fifteen year old Student Council President. "Here's the information on the new students that you requested. Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy."  
  
Nokoru raised an eyebrow. "Heero? Funny, my cousin didn't mention him. Unless..." Nokoru picked up the folder labeled 'Heero' and flipped it open, pulling out the picture. He grinned slowly. "As I thought, he changed his name."   
  
Suoh took the picture and frowned at it, rubbing his chin. "Heero Yuy hm? He bears a striking resemblance to a few other people as well."  
  
"Especially one student in particular, this should prove to be quite interesting." Nokoru agreed with a nod.  
  
"What's that?" Akira pushed open the doors to the office with a bright grin. "Do we have another case?"  
  
"No," Suoh said.  
  
"Not yet." Nokoru amended for him, to Suoh's surprise. The President grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled down a few names quickly. "Suoh, I want you to look through the classes these new students have and find out if any of these students are in their classes. Akira, I need you to speak with Otaku about two students in her division... I believe their names are Tomoyo and-" Nokoru furrowed his brow in thought.  
  
Akira giggled. "It's not like you to forget a woman's name, senpai. Tomoyo and Sakura?"  
  
Nokoru nodded. "Yes."  
  
"I'll head over there right now." And with that Akira headed for the door at a happy jaunt. Suoh watched him leave then glanced sideways at his friend.   
  
"Are you sure it's wise to speak with those two? I'm not sure they would appreciate knowing that we looked into their pasts."  
  
Nokoru nodded slowly. "All students are given background checks before they enter the Campus, especially those two. Besides, considering what happened in the past we owe it to them to warn them about his return. The last thing we need is an all out explosion here on campus. We should try and keep this as contained as possible, and if that means keeping those three separated then we need to do that."  
  
Suoh nodded with a determined look and sat down at the computer, ready to get to work.  
  
**  
  
Heero frowned quietly as he glanced at the school uniform lying neatly on the bed. He recognized it perfectly, and he dreaded putting it back on. The brown pants and suit jacket with the little yellow logo. Heero turned away from the uniform and glanced back out the window. From their tenth floor window he could easily see Tokyo Tower, and if the window had faced the other way he could have seen the clock tower of the campus... Heero clutched his fists and walked over to the closet, pulling his duffel bag out from under the small amount of clothes which were hung up. Checking the few belongings with a quick look he stuffed the bag back in the closet.  
  
Great, he scolded himself silently, now you're getting paranoid. What did you honestly expect? That you could just bury your past? You should know by now-  
  
"Ne, He-ko?"  
  
Heero looked up to find Duo in the doorway holding a long rectangular package. As soon as his eyes set on the package the room flashed slightly. Heero quickly stood to his feet and walked over, noting with a small amount of interest that Duo had noticed the flash, he shouldn't have.  
  
"This came in the mail but it's addressed to someone named Syaoran."  
  
Heero frowned very quietly; he didn't have to open the package to know what was inside. He walked over to the bed and sat down, opening the package with care. Duo watched in confusion from the doorway, not sure what to say. His eyes widened as he saw what was inside. It was an old ornate sword that had various Chinese symbols etched along the hilt in green and gold. Heero closed his eyes and held the sword tightly in his hands for a moment then set it down on the bed.  
  
"The return address said it was from China, you know someone in China He-ko?"  
  
Heero nodded solemnly. "Family," he muttered.  
  
"Nani?! You have family?"  
  
"Not now Duo." Heero pushed himself off the bed and grabbed a towel from the closet, heading for the bathroom attached to his room.  
  
"You're not going to explain this to me are you?"  
  
Heero paused but didn't turn back. "I... not now."  
  
Duo nodded. "Yeah, I got it. I trust you, koi, I know you'll tell me eventually. But don't expect me to give up without a fight."  
  
Heero glanced back and smirked. "It wouldn't be any fun if you did."  
  
Duo grinned back. "Damn straight."  
  
Duo watched with a contemplating look as Heero stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. He turned his eyes toward the sword lying on the bed. Heero use a sword? It seemed to odd, Heero was the type who used guns and mobile suits and bombs, but a sword? That was a side of his lover he rarely saw. Nor did he expect to ever see anything like it. Duo walked over to the bed and slowly reached toward the sword. A strange kind of energy crackled along the edge of the blade and jolted up to make contact with his skin, much like a flash of static electricity. Duo pulled away from the blade and chewed thoughtfully on the end of his braid.  
  
"Yeah," he muttered, "I get the point, I'll stay away. You just better not hurt him!" Duo glared at the sword for a moment then broke out into a smile and shook his head. "Yeah, Maxwell you are losing it, you're scolding a sword!" He shook his head sadly and left the room for the kitchen to look for something to eat.  
  
Heero stepped out of the shower a few minutes later just in time to hear Duo yelling from the main room. "I'm going to go check out the campus grounds, I'll be back later."  
  
Heero didn't even answer. It didn't bother him that Duo was going out on his own. He was quite certain that the braided baka could handle whatever the campus decided to throw at him. And considering the fact that it was the CLAMP Campus that could be almost anything. Heero glanced back at the sword and sighed. Why had he accepted this mission?  
  
**  
  
"Hey! Sakura!"  
  
Sakura looked up to see her friend Tomoyo racing over, video camera in hand, waving happily. She came to a stop as Sakura tossed the baton up one more time with a twirl and caught it flawlessly. Smiling she waved to the others on the team and head over toward her friend. "Hey Tomoyo."  
  
"You rat! Why didn't you warn me you were going to throw it one more time? I didn't get it on tape, and you caught it so well." Tomoyo frowned and placed her hands on her hips in mock anger. Sakura only laughed.  
  
"You've got me on tape enough, Tomo-" Sakura paused as she heard squeals from the team behind her. She and Tomoyo turned to see Utako racing toward them with Rika. The two girls pointed wildly at another boy wandering across the campus near the Gamera building.  
  
"Who is he? Have you guys ever since him before?!" Rika asked in a hurried voice.  
  
Sakura glanced across the lawn to see a boy about her age, in his midteens, wearing a priest's outfit? with a black cap and a very long chestnut colored braid. "He looks American. Maybe he's a transfer student."  
  
"I hope he's in my classes!" Rika declared happily.  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes and glanced at Sakura, immediately noticing her friend's small frown. "Sakura?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh, its nothing. We have to hurry and change or we'll be late for our next class, come on Tomo."  
  
Tomoyo nodded. "See you guys later!" she called back with a wave, then raced after Sakura, video camera tightly in hand. Just as the two disappeared into the building holding the locker rooms Akira came racing up to Rika and Utako.  
  
"Utako-san." He said with a smile, pausing to catch his breath.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
Akira shook his head and offered a very sweet smile. "No, have you seen Kinomoto-san and Daidouji-san?"  
  
"They just left to get to their next class. What's up Akira?"  
  
"I have to deliver something to them from the student council. Thanks."  
  
With that Akira took off after the two girls. Utako and Rika shrugged and went back to speaking of the strange new boy who they had seen.  
  
**  
  
"What's up Sakura?"  
  
Sakura frowned as she buttoned the front of her uniform. "That boy... something about him was strange. I don't know... it's like the old feeling I had before, when we were hunting down the Clow Cards."  
  
Tomoyo raised an eyebrow and stopped swinging her legs on the bench. "You think he might have some? Or that he's related to Clow?"  
  
Sakura shook her head. "We caught all the Clow Cards remember? There isn't a way he could have one, least I don't think so."  
  
"You should probably talk to Kero about it." Tomoyo pointed out.  
  
"Yeah..." Sakura shut the locker and grabbed her bag pausing for a moment. "Hey Tomo, will you take notes for me in class today? I'm going to find out what's going on."  
  
"Sakura, you can't skip class. And you know how I hate it when you leave me out of things."  
  
Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, I just want to follow him, I promise nothing will happen."  
  
"Oh." Tomoyo looked away for a second. "Yeah, ok. I'll get the notes for you."  
  
"Thanks Tomo."  
  
Tomoyo placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled. "Don't forget to talk to Kero-chan ok?"  
  
Sakura smiled back. "Hai." Sakura left her bag at the locker and raced outside, ducking around the side of the building. She pulled a small key out from around her neck and clutched it in her hand. Closing her eyes she spoke the incantation and moved her hand over the key. A six-sided star appeared on the ground around her feet and the key began to glow and expand. It grew until it was almost half Sakura's height and then she opened her eyes and wrapped her hand around the wand, the light extinguishing at her touch. Moving her hand a pink and gold card appeared out of no where.  
  
"Fly card!"   
  
She touched the card with her wand and it disappeared, large white wings appearing on the edge of the wand. Sakura jumped on the wand as it flew off into the sky, heading in the direction the strange boy had went.   
  
She sailed high in the sky, only low enough to see his very small form walking around the campus at a leisurely pace. She watched him walk with almost no direction, stopping many times to just look around then taking off again at a normal paced walk. He was exploring the campus yet wasn't wearing the normal uniform. He had to be a transfer student and Sakura guessed he would start classes the next day. But in the meantime she couldn't forget about the strange feeling she'd gotten when she'd first seen him. She knew he couldn't have a Clow Card and he didn't seem to have any magic so what was it then? Sakura frowned and commanded the wand to take her down to the ground.  
  
Sakura landed behind a building in the park and the wings disappeared from her wand. Keeping it in it's enlarged size she peeked around the side of the building to watch the boy. The boy stopped in the middle of the park and dropped onto the grass with a grin. Closing his eyes he placed his hands behind his head and just bathed in the sunlight. Sakura was completely confused.  
  
"You can stop spying on him, Sakura."  
  
Sakura jumped and stepped around the corner, surprised to find another boy leaning against the wall there. He had short brown hair and sharp blue eyes, dressed in a green tank top, blue jeans and a blue jacket. Despite the differences in his looks Sakura would have known him anywhere, she took in a deep breath.  
  
"Li?"  
  
Heero said nothing; he simply glanced over to where Duo lay. Duo was now sitting up, watch the two with a puzzled expression. He started to get up to walk over but Heero gave the slightest shake of his head and Duo got the point. Heero was busy, and it wasn't any of Duo's business at the moment. Heero turned his attention back to Sakura.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Why were you following him?" Heero countered.  
  
"He's... well." Sakura fidgeted with her baton behind her back. "He feels like a Clow."  
  
Heero shook his head and glared at the ground. "Sakura, you have all the Clow Cards, you know that. He doesn't have any."  
  
"But he..."  
  
Heero pushed off the wall and began to walk away.   
  
"Li wait!"  
  
Heero turned back and just looked at her. "We have business here, don't get nosy."  
  
Sakura bit her lip and nodded slowly. Satisfied Heero turned and walked over toward Duo. Duo glanced between the two in confusion but shrugged it off thanks to a glare from Heero. Sakura watched the two boys cross the campus and walk out of sight. Li had returned to Japan, she should have been happy, but she wasn't. He was so different from the last time they'd spoken, so cold. Yeah, it had been five years since they'd last spoken but... but he shouldn't have changed that much.  
  
"It's like I'm back at square one when I first met him and he was against me," Sakura said with a sigh. There was a ring and Sakura pulled Tomoyo's cell phone out of her pocket. "Hello?"  
  
"Sakura, Akira-senpai just stopped by to talk to me, he was looking for you too. And he said Li is back in town."  
  
"I know," Sakura said sadly. "I just talked to him. I'll see you after class Tomo, I'm going to go talk to Kero."  
  
"Ok," Tomoyo hung up. Sakura placed the phone back in her pocket. "Fly card!" she yelled halfheartedly then flew toward her dorm room.  
  
**  
  
The moon shown brightly over the city of Japan, glinting off the many buildings and the brightly lit Tokyo Tower. A dark figure raced along the streets, too fast for most to see until he came to a large airplane hanger. With the grace and silence of a cat he snapped the lock, slid the door open and slipped inside. The mysterious 20 Masks paused and his mouth dropped open as she saw the large machines before him.   
  
So this is what a Gundam looks like, he thought silently. They were huge! He smirked quietly and set to work. He hadn't expected them to be so large but it wouldn't pose a problem, not to 20 Masks. There wasn't anything he couldn't steal.  
  
Duo walked into the hanger the next morning and froze cold. He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes, then narrowed his eyes. "Shimatta!" Turning on his heels he raced out of the hanger back toward the car they'd arrived in.  
  
"Uh... Heero, you sure this is the right hanger?"  
  
Heero looked up from his place in the driver's seat and nodded, his eyes narrowing. "Why?"  
  
Duo laughed nervously. "Because either I'm blind or our Gundams are gone."  
  
Without a word Heero jumped over the door of the jeep and raced for the hanger, Duo close on his heels. Heero stopped at the open door and stared in amazement at the empty hanger. "Inconceivable," he muttered softly. In silence Heero walked along the edge of the hanger, going over everything with careful eyes. He found one thing in the corner, a small red mask. Picking it up he frowned deeply.  
  
"It's almost as if the Gundams were never even in this hanger, there's no sign of them anywhere. Any other clues?" Duo glanced back at Heero and caught sight of the mask. "What's that?"  
  
Heero tossed the plastic mask to Duo, who caught it perfectly. "Strange," the braided boy remarked.   
  
"They are still on campus." Heero said coldly.  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"Because I do." Heero shoved his hands in his pockets and headed back for the jeep. Duo raced after him and grabbed his shoulder, causing the gloomy pilot to stop.   
  
"Man, this is getting real old. You need to tell me what the heck is going on! Our Gundams are missing and you're still being all secretive. First the sword, then the campus, then the strange girl and now the Gundams. Heero, what is going on?"  
  
"I'll explain when we get back to the apartment."  
  
"You better."  
  
**  
  
Heero opened the door to his room and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Duo noticed him tense up. "Oh now what?" Duo moaned.  
  
Heero stepped into the room and glanced around quickly. He whirled around and the sword from the bed flew into his hand just as the closet doors flew open from a thought. Heero caught the sword without a though, having summoned it automatically and pointed the tip at a large golden spirit inside the closet. The dog spirit growled loudly, it's eyes glowing. Heero faced the dog spirit and glared evilly at him. Spinning his sword in the air he spoke the incantation as instinct.   
  
"Force hear my plight, release the light!"  
  
Light shot from the sword and slammed into the armored spirit. There was a flash and a very small yellow teddy bear-looking thing with wings smacked up against the wall with a yell. Heero dashed forward, ready to strike again.  
  
"Itai! What was that for?!"  
  
"You had better explain yourself Kero, my patience is short today."  
  
Kero rubbed his head as he floated to eye level. "No kidding! One more shot like that and Sakura would have to look for a new guardian."  
  
Heero glared icily.  
  
"I got the point!" Kero said quickly. "Sakura said you were back in town and I came to check on you! No harm done see? Just innocent little Clow guardian checking up on an old friend. Don't kill me, k?"  
  
With much hesitation and against his better judgement Heero lowered the sword. Kero sighed with relief, his eyes darted toward Duo.  
  
"Who's the statue?"  
  
Heero turned, suddenly remembering that the other pilot was also in the room. "Duo?"  
  
Duo stood completely still, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with shock. Heero had the sudden urge to laugh, Duo looked so silly. And for once the he was speechless. Duo blinked a few times then finally closed his mouth. "N-nani?" he choked out. "What is going on Heero?"  
  
"Heero?" Kero looked from Duo to Heero and frowned in confusion. "You mean you used your magic in front of him when he didn't even know? You're getting careless Li."  
  
"Shut up Kero!" Heero snapped.  
  
"You going to explain this to him?"  
  
"Kero, I'm warning you..." Heero raised his sword again.  
  
"Your friend's a Card Captor!" Kero blurted out then darted quickly behind Duo with a grin to hide from the sword and Heero's murderous glare.  
  
"A... Card Captor?" Duo blinked in confusion. "I think I need to sit down."  
  
Heero nodded slowly and lowered his sword once more as Duo made his way numbly to the bed where he did just as he said and sat down. Kero landed on the bed between him and Duo. "You going to explain this to him, Li, or do I have to?"  
  
"Hn." Heero grunted, crossing his arms.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Kero muttered. "You see, kid, your friend over there is what's called a Card Captor. He kinda... well umm... uses, captures and protects these things called the Clow Cards."  
  
Duo smirked. "Clow Cards? Is that anything like Pokemon?"  
  
"No!" Heero snapped angrily. Duo winced jokingly.  
  
"So what exactly is a Clow Card then?"  
  
Kero frowned. "You're better off just showing him kid. You still have the time card don't you?"  
  
Wordlessly Heero raised the sword and closed his eyes. The sword blinked and an ornate card appeared floating in the air before him. He opened his eyes and snatched the card out of the air, flipping it around so Duo could see the design on the back.  
  
"Ok," Duo nodded. "This is starting to make a little more sense, but what does it do?"  
  
"Look out the window and watch the people."  
  
Duo stood up and walked over to the window, looking down onto the campus.  
  
"Time Card," Heero called out throwing the card in the air. "Release!" He tapped the card with the tip of his sword and the room lit up. Duo whirled around to see an old figure fly out of the card to float in the middle of the room, holding an old hourglass. The old figure tilted the hourglass and the entire world around them became completely silent. Duo glanced back out the window and gave a low whistle as he saw the scene below. Everywhere he looked nothing moved. Birds were frozen in midair along with the clouds and people were frozen in mid-step and jump below on the ground.  
  
"Time Card, return!"   
  
The old figure turned the hourglass back and sounds rushed back into the room. The world suddenly started moving again as the old man dissolved into a cloud of mist and seeped back into the card. Heero snatched up the card once more and it disappeared as it touched his fingers. Duo turned to face Heero.  
  
"You mean you had magic all this time and didn't tell us about it?"  
  
Heero nodded, his face betraying no emotion.  
  
"I'm hurt," Duo mock pouted as he grinned.  
  
Kero snickered. "Well, it's good to see something's haven't changed about you, you still hang out with the same crowd. He reminds me of yours truly."   
  
Heero rolled his eyes.  
  
"He called you Li, and so did that girl from yesterday." Duo prompted.  
  
Heero sighed, realizing Duo wasn't going to let up on this and he might as well explain everything now, or he'd catch hell about it later. Mentally he reminded himself to strangle Quatre for sending them here on vacation! "Heero Yuy is a code name. So was Odin Lowe. My real name is Li Syaoran. I changed it when I became a pilot."  
  
Duo nodded slowly. "I understand that changing your name is an effective way of hiding your past, or forgetting about it, but the part about you being an orphan and all that is false too? No wait, I know the answer to that one. You said you got the package yesterday from family."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Duo turned and headed for the door, Heero raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"Outside, I need some fresh air and time to think. I don't know about you but this is all a little overwhelming. It'll take some getting used to." With that Duo exited the room. Kero watched him leave tem flew over and shut the door.  
  
"Now what?" Heero asked with annoyance as he dropped into a chair.  
  
"Don't tell me you didn't notice it too! By all logic he shouldn't have been able to see Father Time from the card-"  
  
"I know, Kero, I know. It should have frozen him too. But the same thing happened when I got the sword back, by all rights he shouldn't be able to see the magic at all or the Clow's forms. But he looked right at Time."  
  
"Are you saying he has magic?" Kero asked furrowing his brow.   
  
"I don't know. Least not yet."  
  
Kero nodded. "Sakura said she noticed something about him too, she said he felt like a Clow Card."  
  
Heero smirked at that. "I can assure you he is not a Clow."  
  
"Yeah, well I'll leave it to you since he's your friend but you better watch him."  
  
Heero nodded. "I got it covered Kero."  
  
"Yeah. So what are you doing here anyway Li?"  
  
At that Heero frowned. "It was a friend's idea of a joke to send us here on 'vacation'."  
  
"Cute joke," Kero grinned. "Well I'd better get back to Sakura. Do her a favor Li and don't be so harsh next time. I know you two didn't exactly leave on the best of terms but still..." Kero trailed off.  
  
"Kero."  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"My name is Heero."  
  
Kero sighed. "Hai. Ja ne."  
  
Heero watched him silently fly out the window and closed his eyes. It was going to be a LONG vacation.  



	2. Part 2

"Whee! Wow, Sakura look at the view from up here!"  
  
Sakura glanced over her shoulder to where Tomoyo sat on the back of her winged baton. She shook her head as she noticed that, once again, Tomoyo was watching the world through the viewfinder in her camera. "Tomo, you're recording again?"  
  
"Of course silly! You never know when a good shot will come along." Tomoyo smiled and aimed the camera at Sakura. "Say cheese Sakura!"  
  
Sakura only sweatdropped. "I see Meiling's house, hold on." Sakura leaned to the side and the baton started to descend. She and Tomoyo jumped off the baton as soon as they were close to the ground and the wings disappeared. Both girls walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.   
  
A Chinese girl their age opened the door wearing a robe with her black hair in two long ponytails. She sneezed a few times then frowned. "What do you two want?"  
  
Sakura pulled a pile of papers from her backpack. "We heard you were sick so we thought we'd drop off your homework."  
  
"How'd you know I was sick?" Meiling demanded, rubbing her nose.  
  
"Nagisa-san said you weren't in class today," Tomoyo offered.  
  
"T-thanks." Meiling took the papers and started to close the door when they all heard a sound behind them. Sakura and Tomoyo turned to see a slightly older Chinese boy with a gloomy expression walking toward them. Meiling's eyes lit up and she gasped happily.  
  
"WUFEI!!!!" With a yell, and dropping the forgotten homework on the ground, she raced across the lawn and tackled the boy in a gigantic bear hug much to his protest.  
  
"Nani? Onna! Get off of me!" Wufei cried out as he tried to push away the girl, but she just clamped on tighter and tighter yelling his name and laughing. It took a good ten minutes but Wufei finally managed to stand up despite the fact that she attached herself to his arm like a leech. He scowled at her.  
  
"Meiling, who's he?" Tomoyo asked as the two raced up. Wufei noted to his disgust that she'd caught the entire incident of the tackle on film.  
  
"Big brother Wufei!" she declared happily.  
  
"I am NOT your brother!" Wufei snapped.  
  
Meiling giggled. "He was married to my older sister Merian before, so you are too!" She directed the last part at Wufei and it was all he could do not to groan. He'd been hoping to speak with her father about the campus, expecting Meiling to be in class. But no, Fate just had to spite him and make it so she was home. Especially at a horrible time like this! To be caught asking for directions, caught by a woman no less!  
  
"So you're home to stay this time big brother?"  
  
"No," Wufei gritted his teeth. Of all the times for Fate to spite him it had to be now didn't it? He was now convinced without a doubt that Fate was female, no other creature could be so conniving and devious. "I'm looking for someone," he muttered. And I refused to let this onna know I'm asking for directions! He added silently.  
  
"Who?" Sakura asked, which earned her a glare from Meiling.  
  
"Heero Yuy," Wufei gritted out.  
  
Meiling's eyes grew wide again and she shut up long enough for her mouth to resemble a distinct 'O'. "Heero? You mean my cousin?!"  
  
Wufei nodded slowly.  
  
"He's in town?! Honto?!" Meiling's voice was so high pitched it forced the other two to wince and reach protectively for their ears. "Li's back!!"  
  
Wufei didn't suppress the groan this time, however he did manage to wrench himself out of her grip as she started jumping up and down happily.  
  
"Anou... Meiling, Li's been acting strange-"  
  
Sakura broke off as Meiling jumped right in her face and pointed an accusing finger at her, glaring. "What? You saw him and you didn't tell me?! You're trying to keep him all for yourself again aren't you?"  
  
"No-no-I-"  
  
Wufei stepped forward and clamped his hand over Meiling's mouth. "You saw him today?"   
  
"Yeah, by the school. He was with another boy with a long braid."  
  
Wufei nodded and let go of Meiling. "So Duo's here too," he muttered. Then without saying a word he turned to leave. Meiling jumped forward and latched onto his arm happily.  
  
"Onna!" He yelled. "For the stars' sakes woman, let go of my arm!"  
  
"No!" Meiling cried with a giggle. "I want to see Li again!"  
  
Wufei groaned loudly realizing there was no way he was going to lose her. "Fine," he muttered venomously. "At least put some clothes on!"  
  
Meiling nodded happily and turned to Sakura and Tomoyo. "You better be here when I get back!" Then she raced into the house.  
  
"My, she sure got over that cold fast." Remarked Tomoyo, shutting off her camera.  
  
"No kidding," Sakura agreed.  
  
Wufei just crossed his arms and contented himself to scowl at the closed door.  
  
**  
  
Duo sighed in relief as he exited the apartment house. Shutting the doors behind him he shoved his hands in his pocket and walked across the lawn to a patch of shade under a bright blooming sakura tree. Dropping on his back he stared up at the sky.  
  
"I'm dreaming!" Duo shook his head and blinked as he saw a large hot air balloon in the shape of a penguin fly overhead. It didn't disappear so Duo simply shut his eyes. "Flying penguins, talking winged stuffed bears, missing gundams, red masks, magical playing cards and Heero's not Heero?" He groaned. "What is this place?" Duo smiled as an after thought. "Great, now I'm talking to myself like Relena."  
  
"Anou…"  
  
Duo opened one eye in question of the voice and the other soon followed as he sat up. He found a young boy smiling at him, standing just outside the shade. The boy was a little older then ten years and he wore a strange ensemble of black and green clothing, decorated with embroidered crosses and various other religious symbols. The boy smiled at Duo happily and fidgeted with his gloved hands.   
  
"Hai? Nani?" Duo asked, silently praying the day wouldn't get any stranger.  
  
"Is something wrong?" the little boy asked. His big blue eyes glowed with curiosity and concern.  
  
Duo sighed and shook his head, pleased to find himself grinning as usual. "Naw, nothing to worry about. Today's just been a really strange day, that's all."  
  
The young boy sat down next to Duo and frowned slightly. "You sure nothing's wrong? You really seem worried."   
  
"Worried? Me?" Duo gave a forced laugh. "Never… okay, maybe a little. But it's a problem that will solve itself within time. I just need to get used to it. Nothing a little kid like you should be worried about." Duo gave him a wink and grinned, standing up and stretching.  
  
The boy watched him, seeming to ponder the truth in his answer. After a moment the boy nodded to himself and returned Duo's smile. He stood up and offered Duo his green gloved hand. "I'm Subaru, what's your name?"  
  
"Duo." Duo replied with a grin.   
  
"Well, Duo, I'm glad there's nothing really important bothering you." It seemed like a form of saying goodbye. Duo raised an eyebrow as the boy turned and regarded the sakura tree with a frown and rubbed his chin.  
  
"Something up?"  
  
Subaru shook his head slowly. "Kaichou said that there was something strange about this tree in the park. Students have been seeing strange shadows and hearing sounds from the branches…" he trailed off as he stepped under the branches and looked up into the pink blossoms. "There doesn't seem to be… unless…"   
  
Subaru backed up from under the tree and pulled a small slip of paper out of his pocket, a charm spell? Closing his eyes he held the paper between two fingers just in front of his face. Quietly he began to mutter a soft spell and the piece of paper glowed. A beam of light shot out from the paper and hit the tree, then immediately extinguished. Subaru opened his eyes and watched the tree cautiously.  
  
"Nothing happened," Duo muttered from behind him.  
  
"Puu puu!"  
  
Duo and Subaru looked up just in time to see a white blur fall from the tree, hit the ground and move straight for Duo. Duo was knocked backward onto the grass and when he opened his eyes he found a large white round face with a strange red jewel in its forehead staring down at him.  
  
"Pu puu!" it declared with a small puzzled look.  
  
"What the-?" Duo blinked. Subaru gave a small laugh and the white thing turned toward him, and jumped into his outstretched arms. Duo stood up and brushed himself off. "What in the world is that thing?"  
  
"Mokona!" Subaru cuddled the little white rabbit and it 'puu puu'ed happily. "It's a tree spirit that is said to hide in sakura trees and grants wishes for people with strong wills." Subaru giggled. "And he's completely harmless."  
  
"Pu pu!" Mokona agreed.  
  
Duo smiled in spite of himself. I give up, he thought, this world is just strange and I'm going to have to live with it!  
  
"Friends of yours?" Subaru pointed over Duo's shoulder and he turned to see four figures in the distance.  
  
"Maxwell!" called a familiar voice. Duo turned around completely and placed his hands on his hips.  
  
"Wu-" Duo cut the greeting off with snickers as he saw who was accompanying the scowling L5 pilot. A Chinese girl about his age was wrapped around his arm like some strange kind of human moss, while the girl from the day before was walking next to her and another girl was video taping the whole scene with a great big smile. "Wow, Wufei, three at once! Always knew the girls liked you more then me." Duo pretended to be jealous.  
  
Wufei responded by clenching his fist and glaring. "Shut up Maxwell! Where's Yuy?"  
  
"Up in his room talking to a flying stuffed animal. Don't look so surprised, it's not like we haven't seen stranger."  
  
Sakura glanced at Tomoyo from behind Wufei. "Kero?" Tomoyo whispered and Sakura gave a short nod.  
  
"I need to speak with him about this mission I received! I utterly refuse-"  
  
Duo frowned. "Wu, there is no mission, this is a vacation courtesy of Quatre. You can try yelling at Heero for it but it won't do you any good, you're better off yelling at that strange little bunny." Duo nodded back toward Mokona who still snuggled in Subaru's arms.   
  
"Just show me where the room is," Wufei growled.   
  
Duo gave a shrug and headed for the doors to the apartment. "Ja ne Subaru-kun!"  
  
"Ja!" Subaru waved goodbye and walked back over to the tree. Placing Mokona back on one of the branches he took off to report back to the Kaichou, the mystery of the sakura tree spirit had been solved.  
  
**  
  
Heero's eyes opened slowly as he heard the door open and a group enter the apartment. He didn't move from his seat in the bedroom. Instead he just sat there staring at the Time Card in his hand and the other two cards he called out. He still couldn't figure out how Duo had seen the card's power. Perhaps another test was in order, but he didn't want to create a scene. And a test might attract unwanted attention.  
  
"Syaoran?"  
  
Heero stiffened and a second later Meiling poked her head in the room. She emitted a squeal and bolted toward him, jumping into his lap and hugging him tightly before Heero had a chance to protest or even sweatdrop. It took a second for Heero to recover his senses and as soon as he did he pushed Meiling away, only succeeding in making her let go of everything but his arm.  
  
"Meiling?! What are you doing here?!" Heero glared toward the door as Sakura, Duo, Wufei and Tomoyo entered. Sakura and Tomoyo took a step back from the glare while Duo just stopped from entering the room. Wufei didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Yuy, you have some explaining to do!"  
  
Heero groaned and stood up from the chair. Duo noted that he moved around easily with Meiling attached to his arm like some kind of vine, he must have been used to it from Relena. "This wasn't my idea, Wufei. Believe me, CLAMP Campus is the LAST place I would choose for a vacation spot."  
  
Wufei opened his mouth to yell something when the vid-phone rang. Duo walked over and hit the button, the view screen blinking to life. "Mosimosi?"  
  
A boy their age with curly blond hair appeared on the screen, holding a fan with the school seal. "Konnichiwa, mina-san." he said with a bright smile.  
  
"Inomoryama-senpai?" Sakura and Tomoyo said in unison.  
  
Another blond boy stepped up beside him, this one without curly hair, he waved.   
  
"Quatre!" Wufei fumed.  
  
Quatre seemed to wince slightly at the tone in his voice. "Nice to see you too Wufei. How are things going?"  
  
"What do you mean how are things going?! You tricked me into coming back to this cursed campus!"  
  
Quatre sweatdropped. "Gomen about that Heero and Wufei, but I thought you would like returning to your 'roots'. Besides I had to visit my cousin and he keeps telling me all about the campus, it sounded like a fun place to visit."  
  
"Fun?" Heero snorted. "Wait, your cousin? Quatre, don't tell me you're related to the Inomoryama Group."  
  
Quatre and Nokoru nodded and smiled.  
  
"Well you can definitely see the resemblance." Duo remarked.  
  
"That's it, I'm leaving." Wufei started to turn and head for the door.  
  
"Matte Wufei! Onegai!" Quatre called out.  
  
Wufei turned halfway and just glared at him.  
  
"You have to stay for the circus at least! Please! Trowa and the whole troop are arriving tonight to perform for the campus. It was supposed to be a surprise. Please, we took so much time planning this. Please say you'll stay just for the circus. Onegai Wufei."  
  
Wufei groaned loudly. Growling and clenching his fist he stepped out of the room, yet didn't head for the door of the apartment.  
  
"I think that's as close to a 'yes' as you're going to get Q-man," Duo snickered.  
  
Quatre clapped his hands together. "You guys are coming too right?"  
  
Heero frowned. "It's not like we can leave, our gundams went missing this morning."  
  
Nokoru stepped back in front of the screen. "You say the gundams are missing? No problem!" Nokoru closed his fan and flicked it out again to show the logo for the CLAMP Campus Detectives. "Leave it up to the CLAMP Campus Detectives, we'll find them for you after the show."  
  
Duo glanced to Heero who shrugged. "Why not? It's not like we have anything better to do."  
  
"Yo kata! See you guys there!" Quatre smiled happily.  
  
Nokoru bowed and directed his eyes to Tomoyo and Sakura. "And of course, you ladies are invited as well."  
  
"Arigatou," Tomoyo bowed as the screen blinked out.   
  
Duo raised an eyebrow and glanced at the girl attached to Heero. "So, He-chan, who's this?"  
  
Meiling glared at Duo.   
  
"This is my cousin-" Heero pulled at her arm and succeeded in pushing her away. Meiling crossed her arms and frowned. "Li Meiling."  
  
"Hn? Li? Oh, never mind. I give up trying to figure this all out. Though now I understand why you like Relena, they do bear a striking resemblance."  
  
"Baka!" Heero spat out.  
  
**  
  
An hour later found the varied group clustered on the floor with steaming cups of hot chocolate. Kero had joined them and was also sipping his hot chocolate out of a long silver spoon. Heero had explained everything in short simple sentences with Kero jumping in and pointing things out in more detail. Finally everything seemed to be explained and they all sat in silence.  
  
Duo finished off his mug of hot chocolate and set it down on the carpeted floor. "So… I think this is starting to make more sense. Your name is actually Li Sayoran?"  
  
Heero nodded.   
  
"And you and Wufei used to go to CLAMP Campus?"  
  
Heero nodded but Wufei shook his head. "I never went to this campus, but Merian did so I was with her family here quite often."  
  
"Not often enough," mopped Meiling who was now sitting between Heero and Wufei, casting deadly glares at anyone who even dared to look at the two boys.  
  
"So now what?" Duo asked, eyeing Meiling who had decided he was a good target to glare at.  
  
"Well, we just sit tight and wait for this circus you mentioned I guess." Kero pointed out. Then he turned and pointed at Heero. "And you, Sayoran should apologize to Sakura!"  
  
Heero and Sakura jumped in surprise. "For what?!" Heero demanded angrily.  
  
"For leaving for one! After all you two went through-"  
  
Heero narrowed his eyes and muttered a few words, suddenly a small slip of paper appeared over Kero's lips and cut off his words. Heero stood up and left the room without another word, succeeding in disappearing before Kero got the small slip of paper off his mouth.  
  
"Jeez, touchy ain't he?" Kero frowned.  
  
"Serves you right Kero-chan, you shouldn't have said anything." Sakura said.  
  
"Well so~rry! I was only trying to help! Hmph."  
  
Duo took a deep breath. "There was something between you two?" He asked Sakura. Heero apparently had left that part out and Kero hadn't really added it in. Sakura nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah," she said concentrating her eyes on her hands. "There seemed to be for a while."  
  
Duo stood up and gave a smile. "I know Heero, let me go talk to him."  
  
Sakura nodded.  
  
As Duo left the room Tomoyo gave Sakura a tight hug. "Don't worry Sakura, it'll be ok."  
  
Sakura smiled quietly at Tomoyo. "Yeah. I know he's moved on and so have I, I mean I have you Tomo-chan. But I just wish he wasn't so angry with me." She sighed quietly.  
  
Across the room from them neither Wufei nor Meiling was paying attention, instead Meiling had decided to reattach herself to her brother-in-law much to his protest. Sakura smiled as the Chinese gundam pilot tried to pry her off his arm.  
  
**  



	3. chapter 3

Author's note: Sorry this part is so short. And yes, be amazed, I plan to finish this story this week. Finally! Hehe, bet you al thought I'd forgotten about it. :P  
  
Duo walked into the other room and found Heero sitting by himself at the window, staring out at the sky. Duo shut the door behind him and walked slowly toward his friend.  
  
"You don't have to sneak around, I know you're here," Heero muttered quietly, not taking his eyes from the window.  
  
Duo dropped onto the bed and looked at his friend. "So what's with the self pity all of a sudden? I've never known you to look so guilty before."  
  
Heero shook his head. "I left CLAMP Campus to train as a pilot. I never planned on coming back…" he trailed off.  
  
"Let me guess. You and Sakura had something going-"  
  
Heero looked up in surprise and turned to face Duo, his eyes wide.  
  
"Let me finish, k? You and Sakura had something going on and then you got assigned to becoming a gundam pilot. You left, without saying much of a good-bye, and went to train. During the war all you were trained to worry about was your mission and so you didn't keep up contact. And now we're back here and you feel guilty. Am I right?"  
  
Heero nodded. "I feel like I owe her something."  
  
"Well, Heero, you kinda do."  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed just the smallest amount.  
  
"Think about it? From what I've heard so far you and Sakura were pretty good friends, even if you started off as rivals. Whether there was something else to that relationship or not you do owe her an apology for leaving so quickly."  
  
Heero snorted and walked away from the window, running a nervous hand through his unruly hair. "Since when did you start dealing out advice on emotional matters?"  
  
Duo stuck out his tongue. "Since you started to look like you needed it. Now quit moping about and go apologize, or do I have to grab you by your tank top and pull you out there?"  
  
Heero still frowned. "Duo, if I go out and apologize… I'm going to hurt her by telling her about us."  
  
Duo nodded, solemnly. "Take my advice on this one Heero. Not knowing and finding out later would hurt her more."  
  
**  
  
Sakura yawned and stood up, walking over to the chair where Heero had been sitting. Kneeling down she picked up the three cards lying forgotten on the floor. Frowning she pulled her own deck out of her purse.  
  
"Kero, how did Li- I mean Heero get three of my cards?"  
  
Kero flew over and hovered near her shoulder. "It makes sense, kind of. I mean he is still a descendant of Clow Reed so he should still be able to call the cards. Though they aren't nearly as powerful for him as they are for you. Especially now that you've transformed them into Sakura Cards."  
  
Sakura nodded and placed the three cards in the case with the rest of her deck. She and the others in the room all turned as Heero and Duo stepped back into the room. Sakura bit her lip.  
  
"Yuy, you got tea in this place?"  
  
Heero glanced to Wufei in surprise, but was glad that this Chinese pilot was still keeping Meiling occupied. "In the cupboard next to the fridge."  
  
"Good," Wufei muttered as he walked past them, Meiling still attached to his arm. As soon as they left the room Heero turned back to Sakura.  
  
For a moment the two just looked at each other in silence, with Duo, Kero and Tomoyo waiting for something to happen. Finally Duo nudged Heero in the gut with his elbow and broke the silence spell.  
  
"Sorry," Heero muttered.  
  
Sakura's eyes widened. "S-sorry?"  
  
Heero nodded.   
  
"For leaving and not telling, things… came up." Heero's voice faded out and he looked away, seeming completely embarrassed. Duo was trying his best to keep from laughing, the great and mighty Heero Yuy could take on OZ without a second thought but when dealing with girls he reverted to a shy little ten-year-old. It was almost too cute for words.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Thanks, but you don't have to apologize, Li. Erm, Heero. I've seen the news, I've heard about the Gundams and the war. It's kind of nice to know that you were part of that. Doesn't make me feel so bad for just hiding here on campus."   
  
Tomoyo stepped forward and smiled. "I wish we could have gone with you. Recording the gundams would have been so cool!"  
  
Sakura laughed but then her smile wilted. "Heero, about us… before…"  
  
Heero opened his mouth but bit back the denial. He knew he had to get this over with, and now was as good a time as any.  
  
Sakura tangled her fingers together in embarrassment and concentrated on the floor, trying to gather her courage. Behind her Tomoyo stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.  
  
"What she means to say, Heero, is that, well…"  
  
"Tomoyo and I are…" Sakura and Tomoyo both dropped into awkward silence as Heero raised a curious eyebrow.  
  
"You mean you two are… a couple?" He asked quietly.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo nodded.   
  
From behind Heero Duo let out a laugh. "Oh man, would you guys stop with the emotional angst? Its gonna kill me here."  
  
Heero shot Duo a glare, but he couldn't resist a small smile. He turned that smile back to Sakura and Tomoyo, silently very happy Duo had managed to lighten the mood.  
  
"You… you're not mad?" Sakura asked timidly.  
  
Heero shook his head.   
  
Sakura's eyes brightened up. "Great! I mean I thought you'd be angry or something after you left and I'd promised to keep that bear and all."  
  
Duo stepped forward and placed a hand on Heero's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "Heh, you're not the only one who's got a new koibito."  
  
The eyes of both girls widened and Kero flew right up to Duo's face, his small button eyes growing huge. "You're kidding right?! You and Li are a couple?" He turned to look at Heero. "You and that jokester are a couple?"  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed. "Not that a stuffed animal should care."  
  
Kero growled angrily and jumped forward to bite Heero's finger, instead Heero snapped his hand around and caught Kero by the tail, keeping him a safe distance away.  
  
"Are you really a couple?" Tomoyo asked Duo.  
  
Duo nodded. "Have been for a while now."  
  
"Great!" Tomoyo clapped her hands together. "Then everything's solved and everyone is happy."  
  
Heero shook his head. "Not quite." He turned to Duo. "I wouldn't suggest telling my cousin in the other room that we're a couple. If she finds out she may want your head on a pike."  
  
Duo swallowed hard and nodded, his grin only wilting slightly. "Note taken. And I retract my comment from earlier. She is worse then Relena."  
  
"You have no idea."  
  
**  
  
Akira looked over to Quatre with a big grin as he set the tea down at the table. "So you're actually fighting in the colony wars with a gundam?"  
  
Quatre smiled and took a sip of his tea. "Yes, but its not that exciting. In fact it's pretty scary at times."  
  
Nokoru closed his fan and reached for a small piece of cake that Akira had also brought. "As guilty as I feel about it I'm glad we have enough funds to keep the campus free from the war.  
  
Quatre nodded. "I agree. No need to feel guilty. It's nice to know that when this war is ended the students here at CLAMP Campus can step in and help repair the world. Relena Peacecraft has great intentions, but in reality we'll also need the students from this school to help rebuild everything."  
  
Souh rubbed his chin. "It does seem the best way of going about things. In any case it seems to be working."  
  
Behind them, on Nokoru's student council desk, the phone rang. Akira jumped out of his seat and raced to answer it. He set it back down a minute later and smiled. "It seems the circus has completed set up. They request that we look everything over before announcing they are open."  
  
Nokoru smiled and stood up, flipping out his fan, which now held a smiling blowfish face. "Good, shall we head down?"   
  
Quatre and Souh both stood up, nodding their agreement. Souh took the lead with Akira bouncing along happily behind him. Nokoru fell into step with his slightly older cousin. "And you can introduce me to this 'Trowa' I've heard so much about."  
  
Quatre looked away quickly as a blush covered his cheeks. Nokoru chuckled and just smiled innocently.  
  
**  
  
"Fuu-chan!"  
  
Fuu looked up from her book to see Hiraku and Umi racing toward her, smiling happily. She smiled back and stood up, brushing the stray sakura petals from school uniform. "What are you two so happy about?"  
  
"Did you hear?" Hiraku demanded as they stopped in front of her. "There's a circus today! Nokoru-senpai just announced it over the loud speaker. And all classes have been cancelled so the entire campus can attend!"  
  
"We should get good seats," Umi added in.  
  
Fuu dropped her book in her bag and nodded. "All right, lets go then."  
  
"Puu puu!"  
  
All three girls turned to look at the sakura tree Fu had been leaning against, to see Mokona bouncing on one of the branches. The white rabbit bounced around a little more then jumped down and landed in Hiraku's arms. All three girls laughed.  
  
"I guess you can come too," Hiraku said, hugging the little ball of white fluff.  
  
"Pu-pu!"   
  
"Come on, or there won't be any seats left."  
  
**  



	4. Part 4

  
Part 4  
  
The large group entered the line for the circus, waiting to get to their seats. Duo and Heero walked next to each other, leading the group. They were followed by Sakura and Tomoyo, who were walking hand in hand with Kero perched on Sakura's shoulder. Meanwhile Wufei brought up the rear with Meiling still clinging happily to his arm.   
  
"Heero, Duo! Glad you could make it!"  
  
They all turned to see another cluster of familiar faces. Catherine waved cheerfully at them from behind the curtain, dressed in her normal circus garb. Beside her stood Trowa, Quatre and Nokoru. The group left the line and walked over.  
  
"We have seats for you all, saved near the front." Nokoru declared with a flick of his fan.  
  
"Seats near the front? Cool!" Sakura grinned happily.  
  
"Perfect. And it's at a great camera angle right?" Tomoyo asked, checking the batteries on her video camera.  
  
"Of course," Nokoru said with a bow. "Anything to please the women."  
  
Duo snickered. "Dang, I really gotta take some flirting lessons from him."  
  
"Why?" Heero said with a mischievous smirk. "You thinking of chasing after someone else?" He narrowed his eyes playfully and Duo chuckled.   
  
"Not a chance, koi, still flirting can get you a lot of things normal talking can't."  
  
"Like into trouble," Wufei countered. Duo simply stuck his tongue out at the Chinese pilot.  
  
"We should probably get to our seats. Trowa and Catherine have the first act." Quatre interjected. He turned to his cousin. "Where are Suoh and Akira?"  
  
"Oh they're coming. Don't worry. They said they'd meet us at the seats." Nokoru tucked a pair of sunglasses into his front pocket and pointed toward the empty seats in the front of the tent. Everyone else was sitting down, waiting patiently for the show to start. "Shall we? After you, ladies."  
  
Tomoyo took up the lead; her camera out and recording as she gushed over the beautiful effects of the lights and tilted tent ceiling and how it would all make a great picture. Sakura came next, followed by Duo and everyone else. As they took their seats Duo stumbled and bumped into Sakura, causing her to lose hold of her purse, her deck of cards spilling out onto the isle.  
  
"Oh no!" Sakura immediately dropped to the ground, with Kero, hurriedly picking them up.  
  
"Oh man," Duo knelt down and gathered up a good half of the cards in his hands, handing them to her. "Sorry about that," he said with a grin.  
  
"No problem," Sakura returned a smile. She placed the cards back in her purse and took her seat. Meanwhile Kero tossed a glance to Heero, who nodded slowly. Both kept watch over Duo and the purse of cards as they took their seats and the lights dimmed. Heero had a bad feeling about this.  
  
The lights in the tent dimmed and the crowd grew silent, all waiting for the first act to begin. A drum roll filled the tent, loud and sudden, causing many to jump. A single spotlight snapped on to reveal the Circus Manager in his red outfit and black top hat. Giving a low bow to the audience he introduced his show, announcing the beginning. Cheers filled the stands as another spot light snapped on.   
  
It revealed Catherine and Trowa standing in the center of the performance area, dressed in their normal circus garb. The cheering died down as both marched to the wooden wheel erected in the center of the tent. Trowa let himself be strapped in with the leather binders, and then Catherine took a step back. With large ceremonious sweeps of her arms she pulled out eight knives, four for each hand.   
  
She juggled them for a few minutes, tossing them in the air as the crowd gasped in delight. Even the gundam pilots, who'd seen Trowa and Catherine's act many times, were impressed. She'd just recently added the juggling part and it only made the act more impressive, even though they all knew that she would never miss her targets, and even if she did, Trowa could move fast enough to avoid the daggers, even though he was strapped in.  
  
The first dagger flew from Catherine's hand at a record speed, and her juggling didn't falter one bit. The dagger with a loud thunk next to Trowa's neck. The lights flashed as it hit, to add to the effect, and the crowd gasped, a few cried out.  
  
Meanwhile, sitting in their seats Heero, Sakura and Kero stiffened as the lights flashed. All of them felt the same bolt of energy and all turned to look at each other. Their eyes all drifted to Sakura's purse, which held her Cards, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Heero narrowed his eyes at the purse for a second then turned back to the show. Still he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. Nothing in this tent felt right, something was wrong.  
  
Another dagger.  
Three.  
Four.  
Five-  
  
Catherine froze as something else hit the board right next to Trowa's head, and it wasn't one of her daggers. Whirling around she turned to face the direction it had come from and her eyes widened. Heero followed her gaze and immediately stood up from his seat.  
  
"Arrow!"  
  
All eyes in their group turned to the support beams holding up the top of the tent. Above them, perched on one of the metal beams, was a small girl glowing bright pink and purple. She held a bow and arrow in her hands. Sakura and Kero and Duo all jumped up from their seats in unison.  
  
"I see it!" Yelled Sakura.   
  
"Woah!" Three sets of eyes turned to Duo and stared.   
  
"You can see it?" Kero asked.  
  
Duo nodded. "Creepy little kid."  
  
Arrow ignored them and readied another arrow, aiming it once again at Trowa. The arrow let loose, flying toward the unibanged gundam pilot. But not fast enough, because by the time it hit the board Trowa was unstrapped and rolling on the ground toward cover. He many not have been able to see the thing that was firing at him, but he was certainly able to figure out when moving was a good idea. Grabbing Catherine's hand he yanked her toward cover as another arrow hit the ground near her feet.  
  
Around in the stands people started to panic as more strange things started happening. Vines grew up from the ground while the shadows themselves danced around the tent and actually grabbed on to people. Lightning crackled back and forth between the metal bars and clouds began popping up all over, raining down randomly.  
  
"What's going on?" Akira asked in a high and almost panicked voice.  
  
"Somehow the cards got free," Kero muttered angrily.  
  
Sakura pulled her deck from her purse and quickly flipped through it, noticing that a good number of her cards were now blank. Her eyes widened as she realized they were the ones Duo had touched. Stuffing her cards back in her pocket she pulled out her baton and swirled it around. The baton grew to its larger size and she swung it in the air.   
  
"Li! We need to get these things back!"  
  
"On it." Heero muttered.  
  
"Fly card!" Wings snapped into existence and Sakura jumped onto her baton, Heero catching onto it as well, jumping on behind her. The two flew down to the main performance area and turned back to back, Heero's sword appearing in his hands. Their eyes moved around the tent and assessed the situation.  
  
Meanwhile students were filtering out of the tents, heading for safety away from the strange attacks of the freed Sakura Cards.  
  
**  
  
Subaru Sumeragi jumped out of his seat and rushed to the door of the tent. He couldn't really see the Cards' true forms but he could sense where they were and he knew that they would try to escape the tent soon. He couldn't let that happen. Standing near the door, away from the flow of students, he laced his hands together and began to chant. His power rose up, lacing itself around the fabric of the tent, reinforcing it so that no magic could escape. Some of the Cards beat against the barrier but had no luck, they were trapped.   
  
Sadly though, having expended his current power, Subaru collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The fight was up to the others now; at least he'd prevented the cards from escaping.  
  
**  
  
Hiraku, Umi and Fuu jumped up in their seats as the students around them fled. Whirling around they felt something warm against their backs. Turning they found a strange boy like creature made of fire, grinning at them. Raising his arms he shot a large ball of fire straight for them. Umi and Fuu cowered slightly behind Hiraku, who raised her hand into the air.  
  
"Sinos!"  
  
A jewel appeared over her hand and at the same time a red shield surrounded them, protecting and dispersing the flame. Almost immediately Umi stepped forward and echoed the motion.  
  
"Sinos!"  
  
A blue crystal appeared on her hand and she pointed at the fire creature. "Mizu!" Water appeared around her hand and rushed out, swirling around the creature.  
  
Sakura saw this and flew up again on her baton, landing next to the trio and Fire. "Return to your original form! Fire Card!"  
  
Swinging her baton the Fire struggled but was eventually sucked back into its empty card.  
  
And so the battle carried on, with everyone helping as they could. Every time a Card was trapped or weakened Sakura would zip over to its spot and capture it. She never questioned all the strange help they were getting from the various students, knowing that CLAMP Campus was famous for its more 'special' students.  
  
Two guys dressed in red and blue armor, one with a sword and one with a gun, lent a helping hand, while the trio who'd faced the Fire Card also worked against the cards, proving they all had powers centered on the elements. Meanwhile Heero used his sword and powers just as he had in the old days when he and Sakura were tracking down the Clow Cards. Were it not for the fact that they were in the middle of a battle Sakura might have actually paused to relive some of the memories that were popping up in her head, but now was not the time.  
  
While others used magic and weapons, Suoh used his strength. He matched the Cards' speed and agility step for step and leap for leap. He was the one who finally cornered Arrow long enough for Sakura to capture it, by climbing the supports and giving chase with perfect balance.   
  
The other gundam pilots and Catherine were pretty much out of their league and instead directed their attention to making sure that all the other students made it out of the tent safely. Nokoru and Quatre worked to get everyone out and calmed down while the battle continued within. Meanwhile Akira did what he was best at, acting cute. He raced around the tent smiling sweetly and basically using himself as bait as he dodged the attacks and distracted the cards until they could be caught by Sakura.  
  
Duo stood next to Tomoyo, watching the scene below in awe as Tomoyo's camera rolled and she caught it all on tape.  
  
Hours later the last Card was finally caught and everyone was able to collapse to the ground in exhaustion. Sakura flew on her baton and landed next to Heero as Duo came down the steps to join them. His face grew red and the braided pilot looked down in embarrassment.  
  
"I did this didn't I?"  
  
Heero nodded slowly. "So it seems. I had a hunch though."  
  
Kero landed on Sakura's shoulder. "Had a pretty good idea too when Li here showed you the Time Card. You should have been stopped too, frozen in time, but you weren't."  
  
Sakura smiled softly. "And I noticed your aura felt like a Clow Card when I first saw you, that's why I kinda followed you around campus."  
  
Duo looked up at the group. "I'm still not sure how I caused all this trouble though."  
  
"That's simple, baka."  
  
All eyes turned to Heero who had crossed his arms and was flashing a slightly amused smirk. "You do have magic… the power to nullify other magic."  
  
Duo's eyes widened as did everyone else's.  
  
"Cool! I guess, heh. I mean now that I know I certainly won't do that again. Remind me to never touch a magical deck of cards again, ne, He-ko?"  
  
Kero sighed loudly and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Cheer up, Kero, all the cards are back in their right place and everything's been fixed. It was actually kinda nice to have a small adventure again." Sakura pointed out.  
  
Tomoyo came racing down the stairs, waving her camera in the air. "And I got it all on tape!! You guys were great! This has GOT to be the best film I've ever made!"  
  
Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
**  
  
Their conversation resumed the next day in the Student Council office where all were present. Well, almost all. The two boys dressed in red and blue armor, later confirmed to be the Campus Cop Duklyon team, had completely disappeared. Subaru had just recently been released from heath services, into the care of his worried twin sister, while Umi, Hiraku and Fuu opted to head back to their classes and act normally again, just saying they were glad they could help. So the five gundam pilots, Sakura, Tomoyo, Kero and Meiling sat in the office with the three Student Council members, Catherine was helping take down the circus tent.  
  
Kero gave a loud sigh as Sakura stopped explaining what had happened to everyone. She's explained about Duo strange talent and why it had caused the cards to escape.  
  
"And am I ever glad that is over!" Kero added with an exasperated sigh, then he proceeded to attack the sweet coffeecake Akira set in front of him.  
  
Duo grinned. "After that incident I'm almost tempted to start wearing gloves like that little kid I met near the sakura trees. What do you think, He-ko, would I look cool with black gloves?"  
  
Heero flashed a glare in Duo's direction, as to say 'don't you dare!' Duo snickered and grinned, knowing exactly why Heero disliked the idea of him wearing gloves, if he wore them he couldn't use his hands for more important things.  
  
Nokoru discreetly flicked out his fan, which displayed the kanji for 'anyhoo!'. "And now that that's solved perhaps we should move on to other matters. You mentioned that your gundams were missing?"  
  
Heero and Duo nodded.   
  
Akira glanced off innocently toward the ceiling.  
  
"By 20 Masks," Heero said softly, pulling out the red mask they'd found at the site. Akira sweatdropped and his eyes twitched nervously.  
  
Nokoru grinned. "Well, I am happy to report that I sent Suoh to check in the hangers you mentioned and the gundams are back in their place. It appears that whomever took them decided to return them after the circus."  
  
A shocked look flowed around the room and Heero just shook his head.   
  
"How convenient," Duo murmured.  
  
Wufei just simply crossed his arms and nodded. "That's CLAMP Campus for you."  
  
**  
  
The rest of the vacation carried on without incident. Meling still clung to Wufei's arm and refused to let him out of her sight, until finally he just yanked his arm away from her and took off running at full speed as she chased behind him yelling. The next thing the boys heard was Nataku's engines starting and the L-5 gundam taking off to fly to safety. Heero and Duo quickly followed suit and hid before Meiling could chase after and latch herself onto her cousin.  
  
Quatre parted from his cousin, Nokoru, after receiving a few whispered tips about Trowa that made Quatre's cheeks go bright red. Meanwhile, across the room Suoh's cheeks also flushed slightly, since he heard his name in those whispers. Turning away he just shook his head. He'd have to have a 'talk' with Nokoru about mentioning what they did in private to others later. Akira just smiled innocently, completely unaware.  
  
Heero and Duo said their good-byes to a happy Sakura and Tomoyo. Tomoyo was still gushing about her awesome video and Sakura was just happy that Heero wasn't mad at her any more. The subject of the teddy bear came up but Heero shook his head, telling her to keep it. She smiled and nodded, happy he hadn't decided to take it back.  
  
"What is it with you and giving girls teddy bears?" Duo asked as they drove away from the campus, driving the large flatbed truck which held their gundams.   
  
Heero shrugged and focused on the road.   
  
"I mean, you gave one to Sakura and then you gave one to Relena… what is it, Heero Yuy's trademark 'I'm breaking up with you' stuffed animal? That's one heck of a way to break up with someone."  
  
Heero smirked and glanced toward his lover. "You jealous I haven't given you a stuffed animal?"  
  
Duo shook his head and grinned. Moving carefully, as not to startle Heero while he was driving he wrapped his arms around the Japanese pilot. "Nope, I got my favorite cuddling item right here."  
  
Heero smiled and continued driving, happy to finally be off the campus again, away from all the weird things that happened within its walls. Still, he had to admit that he'd missed the days chasing the Cards with Sakura. It had been a welcome adventure, and he knew that in spite of himself he would be thanking Quatre for it…. After he threatened to kill the Arabian pilot if he ever tried something like this again.  
  
----the end  



End file.
